Divergence
by sorenalice
Summary: AU. Formerly known as Ghost Hunger Variant. The videos about puberty that had scarred the whole fourth grade class never said anything about growing fangs or claws. Maybe a little something about cravings, but not cravings like this.
1. New toys

_So, this au belongs to the beautiful tumblr user scrollingdown, and you should all go shower her with love and thanks. Anyway, thank you all for reading, reviewing, faving and following. You're all spectacular, and I hope you enjoy the first bit to this au._

Thick, red, syrupy blood dripped down the handle of the pliers, staining my hands and the crisp white tiled floor. I whimpered in pain and pulled more, working it out slowly. I could feel my gum ripping away with it.

I had no anesthetic or anything to dull the pain, I could only clean off the pliers and hope that it didn't get infected.

Finally, the fang came out. I cried out and slumped, panting hard, my mouth full of coppery blood. Tears streaked down my face, blurring my vision and making the world look like a big blurry blob of white and red. I looked up at the fang. Clean white, wicked sharp, dripping some clear, foul tasting liquid, and covered in blood.

The pliers shook in my hand, the shining metal stained red with my blood. The clock on the wall read 6:02 pm. I'd been doing this for twenty minutes.

That was only one fang.

I had one more to go.

I gave a shaky sigh that sounded more like a sob, and got to work on the next one.

I'm pretty sure sprouting fangs was not in the puberty videos we watched in school.

After nearly half an hour, someone knocked at the bathroom door. I was almost done with the fang.

"Danny, are you in there?" I hesitated, taking the pliers out of my mouth.

"Yeah." I held back a groan and hunched over in pain.

"Dinner's almost ready. Come on down as soon as you're done."

"Alright." I waited until I was sure she was gone, and ripped the fang the rest of the way, holding back a scream.

Panting, I glanced up at myself in the mirror. I was a mess. Blood ran out of my mouth, staining my face and shirt. Blood spattered on the walls, floor and mirror across from me. I took a shaky breath and threw the fangs in the garbage. I wiped away all of the blood and washed everything off, throwing the towel away too. I turned my shirt inside out and cleaned off my face, making myself look presentable for dinner.

I slid open a drawer and rummaged around for a bit, searching for a small, white bottle. Eventually I found it, pain relievers. I checked the dosage and popped two in my mouth, taking them with a swig of water that stung my gums.

I set my shoulders, staring at myself in the mirror, checking to see if I'd missed anything. Seeing nothing, I put a fake smile on my face, and walked out of the bathroom.

I was hoping dinner was soup or something like that, I didn't think I could handle any tough foods at the time because of obvious reasons.

I sighed and plopped down in my seat at the kitchen table. "What's for dinner?" I asked hopefully.

Mom smiled at me "Steak, veggies and potatoes." Okay, really? Out of all days to have steak? And the way my parents cook it makes it extra tough. This is gonna end very well.

I nodded, forcing a smile, and filled my plate, rejecting the steak, opting instead for the cooked veggies and mashed potatoes. Mom looked at me strangely.

"You aren't taking any steak?"  
"I'm not all that hungry." She nodded, then looked down at her plate and stabbed at some beans.

Dinner was a quiet affair, only the scraping of our forks against our plates and the occasional round of small talk.

"We're opening the Ghost Zone portal tomorrow."  
"Really?"  
"Oh, darn. I'm going to be in the Library all day tomorrow. You'll have to turn it on without me."  
"Aww, c'mon Jazz, live a little."  
"I will once I pass all of my exams." Jazz huffed and poked at her steak.

Halfway through dinner my fingers started hurting. Badly. I had to excuse myself to go check it out.

Wincing, I put away my dishes and cleared my spot. I ran upstairs when I finished, and locked myself in my bedroom.

I turned on my bedside lamp and stared at my fingertips in the dim yellow light.

Thin slits were cut in the center of each fingertip. They itched like crazy. I scratched at my index finger but flinched at the sensitivity.

When I flexed my hand I nearly jumped out of my skin. Ten little scalpel- shaped claws shot out of my fingertips. I dragged a finger across one, making sure not to cut myself, feeling it tug at each crease in my fingerprint. I poked the tip and grimaced at the pinprick of blood that grew on my finger. These things were too sharp.

I flexed my fingers again and the claws shot back inside the slits on my fingers. At least they're retractable. I probably won't have to pull these out. The fangs were in the way, and noticeable if I looked up. They could fold up against the roof of my mouth, but they could easily be seen.

I flopped down in my bed, not even bothering to take off my clothes. It's been a long day. My gaze wandered tiredly around my room. Model rockets dangling from the ceiling, band posters taped on the walls, the faint smell of sweat hung in the air. I barely had enough time to turn off the lamp before I crashed.

-X-

_It was small, green and glowing, and it smelled delicious. My eyes narrowed as I readied myself to pounce after the shaking creature. My muscles tensed, strings ready to snap._

_The green thing looked around nervously and took a step away from me. _

_That's when I made my move._

_My claws sunk into it, tearing at its flesh and sinew, nicking a bone and making it scream in pain. I felt my fangs fold out from the roof of my mouth. I bit down, poison seeping from my fangs into the little ghost's body, blood smeared on my face. After a minute or so, the creature stopped struggling, its movements slowing down and becoming sluggish. _

_It was over in a second._

_The creature's green insides splattered all over the ground, coating it in the thick slime. It smelled like lemons, acidic, but sweet._

_The creature's blood ran down my face as I took bite after flavorful bite. It was exhilarating._

_The hunt, the chase, the catch, the feed._

_It was beautiful. _

_I stalked around, in search for more ghosts like this one._

_The next one was shaped like a human._

_-_X-

My eyes snapped open with a jolt.

It was a dream. It wasn't a nightmare. You know how sometimes you have those dreams that, when you look back on it, it should've been terrifying, but it wasn't, it was a dream? It was like that. This was actually a good dream.

Cold sweat ran down my shaking body, cooling me off. Panting, I threw the covers off of me and sat at the edge of my bed. My heart thudded behind my chest.

I put my head in my hands, gripping at my hair.

Fangs, claws, violent dreams that weren't nightmares?

_What am I? _

**_What's happening to me?_**


	2. Cravings

_Thank you_ _all so much for reading and reviewing and everything and ugh, you're all amazing. Thank you, again to tumblr user scrollingdown, and I hope you all enjoy the second chapter to this lil au._

**Chapter 2**

I was white knuckling the blankets on my bed, trying desperately to ignore the smell. That beautiful, rich. delicious smell. It wafted up into my room from the lab, teasing me. I had half a mind to just run down there and rip whatever ghost Mom and Dad had dragged from the Ghost Zone apart and shove it down my throat.

My stomach gurgled at the idea.

I don't even like ghosts. They were a major part of my life because of my parents, but I'm not even interested in them. I'm more into astronomy. The study of stars and planets and galaxies and everything out there in space…

Either way, I have no interest in ghosts, but as soon as Mom and Dad caught their first one, all I can think about is going down there and devouring whatever poor ghost they captured.

It's been a week since Mom and Dad opened that ghost portal. They haven't taken us down there to see it yet, for 'safety reasons'. Apparently, the last time they tried this it blew up on a friend of theirs.

My fingers haven't gotten used to having claws shoved up inside them. They were actually pretty useful when I had to open up a new package of ear buds. Those containers are impossible to get open without a knife. But touching something is still pretty awful. Taking notes and doing homework, even playing video games, everything felt like something was stabbing the insides of my fingers. They can't stop growing either. They break really easily, I broke two when I opened that ear bud container, but they're getting really long. I may have to cut them soon.

The fangs are still gone, thankfully, but they feel like they're coming back, which is impossible, right? But I can feel it, right up in the little pocket right behind my top incisor teeth, something is coming down, something solid

Sighing, I buried my head under my pillows and tried to ignore the tantalizing smell coming from beneath the floorboards. I don't know how long I laid there, just trying to feel normal. Is this what they meant when they said I'd feel different with puberty? Because that was a bit of an understatement.

I heard footsteps tromping up the stairs, the floorboards creaking underneath the weight of whoever it was. The footfalls were too heavy to be Jazz or Mom, so it had to be Dad.

His steps slowed to a stop right outside my door. He knocked on my door lightly.

"Danny boy, come on down and see the portal. We've got it stabilized so it's safe to come down."

I sighed, burrowing my head into my pillows even further. If I didn't go down they'd wonder why, and when they wonder why, they investigate, and if they investigate, they worry. They don't need to know about _this._ Any of this.

"Sure, Dad. Be right down." I said. I sat up, groaning. I would have to keep a strong hold of myself. I didn't exactly want to actually go up there and rip some poor ghost apart and eat it, no matter how much I actually did kinda want to do that.

I rolled off of my bed and staggered out of my room. The smell got stronger with every step, along with the urge to go and commit an act of horrible violence.

I lumbered down the steps to the basement, I felt my heart pulse beneath my chest, my blood rushing through my veins. Shivers ran up my spine and a cold feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

When I finally reached the lab, the feeling was overwhelming. I _needed_ to find a ghost and eat it. My parents were at the other end of the lab, standing over a lab table, a gaping hole in the wall echoing with green energy. Jazz stood off to the side, an annoyed expression on her face.

Dad looked up at me and grinned. "Danny! Are you ready to see the ghost portal?"

"Yeah." I smiled meekly and approached the portal, feeling numb. Jazz threw up her arms and huffed.

"I need to go to the library. I'm out." She ran up the steps and out of the lab. Mom smirked a little and sighed.

"Well, Danny, it looks like it's just you. We caught a ghost earlier today. Can you believe it, an actual _ghost_?" That's right. My parents, the professional ghost hunters, had apparently never seen a ghost. Their entire career is just one big leap of faith.

She kept talking, but I couldn't hear her over the voice in my brain telling me to launch myself into the ghost portal and eat everything in sight.

I gazed into the pleasantly swirling rings of green energy, watching waves rise and fall, rivulets curling in and out of the grassy colored abyss of the Ghost Zone. It felt like it was calling me, and I honestly wanted to go. A voice pulled me out of my reverie.

_Danny?_

"Danny?" I broke my stare at the portal with difficulty and looked over at Mom. She was looking at me curiously and holding a slim, steel thermos in her hand. "Are you listening?"

"Yeah Mom." I lied. She smiled at me and continued talking.

"Anyway, we built this table here a few years ago, in preparation for this. The strap sizes are adjustable, so we can have almost any size ghost pinned down here. The whole thing is phase-proofed and strong enough that a ghost couldn't break it. We're gonna strap this little baby on there and…" I stopped listening again. The thermos she was twirling in her hand smelled amazing. Even better than the ghost portal. It smelled like fresh squeezed lemons in a newly cleaned kitchen, green beans sizzling in a saucepan and pop being poured out of a can. It wasn't so much a smell, as it was a sensation. It did smell wonderful, but it felt like more than that.

I felt something heavy hit my back and was pushed out of my thoughts again. Dad stood over me, one hand on my back and a huge, toothy grin on his face. He was looking over at Mom, who was aiming the thermos at the lab table she'd been talking about.

"Ready? Three, two, one, and-" A beam of shining, white light poured out of the thermos, illuminating the dimly lit lab. A scream echoed out of the thermos, and with it came a small, green rat-like creature.

My mind went blank. I couldn't think, couldn't move. The world was as blinding white as the bathroom, unsullied with blood.

_Danny!_

I felt the fangs that I'd spent so long ripping out, tear through the still sensitive roof of my mouth. The tips of my fingers erupted into pain as the claws were forced out of their retracted position and out into the open. I could feel hot, red blood ooze from my fingers and mouth, but I didn't care.

The only thing I could see clearly was the ghost, its eyes widened in fear.

I felt _so hungry_.

It didn't take any time for me to get to the rat. One second, I was standing halfway across the room, and the next I'm sinking my teeth into its flesh, injecting it with the toxin in my fangs, waiting patiently for it to stop struggling against the grip of my claws, waiting to eat it.

_I'm so sorry, Danny!_

The white world went black. The edges of my vision blurred, turning the gored rat into a big mess of , I felt the whole world slip away, my eyes sliding shut.


	3. Decidedly not human

**Chapter 3**

_Thank you all so much for all of the (kinda urgent?) reviews. They're all amazing, and tumblr user scrollingdown loves all of you for loving her au. Thank you so much to everyone who read, reviewed, faved and followed._

My head hurts. I mean my head really hurts. It feels like someone's beating my head from the inside with a heavy sledgehammer.

I slowly blinked open my heavy eyes, the world still blurry. I didn't think I was in my room. The ceiling was too dark and metallic to be my bedroom. Groaning, I tried to turn over, only to find that I couldn't.

I tried again, even harder this time, and the thing I was laying on only jerked a little bit. I looked down at what I was laying on. Cold, shining metal reflected my very confused face. My eyes shot open.

I tugged at my wrists and ankles but they'd been tied down to the lab table. I started to panic.

I started shaking and my stomach churned. My breath came in gasps. The world around me spun like a kaleidoscope and I felt my heart pound in my chest.

"Danny!"

Mom entered my spinning eyesight and I felt her hands grab my cheeks.

"It's okay, sweetie, just take a deep breath. Alright? In through your nose, out through your mouth. Okay?"

I nodded and did as I was told. Slowly, the world stopped spinning. My heart slowed down with each breath and the shaking stopped. My stomach still churned, but I could ignore that for now.

"Are you alright, honey, what happened?"

"I-I don't know, I-I just woke up and- and I'm tied to a lab table and-"

"I understand, sweetie, I'm so sorry. We had to, to make sure you wouldn't try again…"

I stared up at her, my eyebrows furrowed and my mouth slightly parted. "W-what do you mean, what?"  
"You don't remember?" I shook my head no. She nodded and sighed, glancing across the room for a split second before her eyes were back on me.

"Let's go up to the living room to talk, alright. Jack's got some fudge and hot chocolate ready for us." She quickly unstrapped my arms and legs and helped me up off the table.

I followed her upstairs, where Dad was waiting on the couch, a plate in his hands, empty of fudge, and three steaming mugs on the table in front of him. He looks up at us, his normally jovial face solemn and serious.

"Danny. How are you?" he asked.

"I'm fine.. I guess, but-"  
"He doesn't remember anything." Mom cut in "Danny, just sit down and relax, we-we'll explain everything."

Mom pointed me over to the couch and left the room for a moment, coming back a few seconds later with a thick, yellowing file.

I sat down next to Dad, and Mom sat down on my other side, she put an arm over my shoulder and sighed. She looked up at Dad and nodded.

"Danny boy, you- you aren't my son."

I could almost hear my world shatter.

"Wh-what do you mean?"

"I am not your biological father."

"What, but you- you're…" I was cut off by my own sob. Hot, wet tears ran down my face.

"We're still your parents, Danny, of course we are. But there's- there's something- about you- that you should know."

_-X-_

_"Vlad! Oh-oh god, Vlad!"_

_The young man rolled over on the floor, clutching his blistering face and groaning._

_"Jack, c-call an ambulance!"_

_The ambulance arrived in a few minutes, and carried Vlad off to the hospital, Jack in the ambulance with him and Maddie driving behind._

* * *

_"Ecto acne." The stoic doctor turned and left the hospital room, leaving Vlad, Maddie, and Jack to their thoughts._

_Vlad looked at his scarred hands, tears streaming down his disfigured face._

_"Hey, Vladdie, it's okay. It'll go away, you'll see."_

_Vlad smiled sadly at Jack. "Thank you."_

_Vlad started hacking and coughingh, turning into a terrible coughing fit, ectoplasm bubbling up from his lungs._

_Two pitch black rings formed at his waist, running down his body and transforming him._

_His pale skin turned a light, dead blue, his white hair morphed to its original black color, a highlight of dark gray streaked through the middle._

_He screamed._

* * *

_"Half ghost?"_

_"That's what the tests say, Vlad."_

_"Is that even possible?" he sidled closer to Maddie, staring at her lips and making her look away._

_"Ghost powers, V-man! That's so cool!" Jack shouted, oblivious to Maddie's discomfort._

* * *

_"Maddie Anderson?" A man in a crisp white suit stood in her doorway, black sunglasses covering his face._

_"Yes?"_

_"I'm here to talk to you about your research. The half-ghost phenomena, specifically."_

_"Oh, yes. What do you want to know?"_

_"I am a part of a government organization dedicated to hunting ghosts, the GiW. You will be working with your colleagues to create a half ghost weapon that we can control."_

_Maddie was stunned into silence._

_"You will be paid handsomely."_

* * *

_Maddie smiled at Jack, who was trying to maneuver the rat into the chamber so it could be gassed with the serum._

_They decided it was too dangerous and not worth the risk to use humans. So, they used animals and a volatile mixture of ectoplasmic elements and genetic bonding agents._

_The rat, freshly dosed with the serum, coughed and hacked, blood and ectoplasm pouring out of every orifice. Dead and ghostless after a few seconds._

_Vlad hit the table in anger, his eyes flashing red. The new Rolex watch on his wrist clashing against the shining steel lab table._

_After a minute he looked up at Maddie, a pensive look on his face._

_"What if we made someone. Someone who could handle the ghost DNA. We could use my own DNA, because we know for a fact I can take it, and we could use Maddie's eggs so we don't have to pay for anything."_

* * *

_Vlad sighed in sadness as he incinerated the shriveled body of their 13th experiment. The thirteenth of his and Maddie's children that didn't even survive to be taken out of the artificial womb._

_13 experiments and 10 years, down the drain._

_Maddie and Jack were married, with a 2 year old daughter they called Jazz. Their family grew, happiness and love at its core._

_Meanwhile, Vlad had to burn his family._

* * *

_"We don't want something which just turns into a ghost, we want something which hunts them. A predator."_

_"That would take extensive genetic revision, there's no guarantee it would work because of that. Just give us a chance to work everything out with a normal half ghost, then we can see about making it predatory."_

_"We do not pay you for normal, Fenton. Project Phantom will be enhanced."_

* * *

_Of course. Why wouldn't it be?_

_The fourteenth experiment, the only one that had survived the full 9 months, the one they spent nearly a year on, enhancing it genetically, is completely human._

_All of the tests, every single one, say that there is not even a trace of a ghost in this boy._

_Vlad punched the wall, hard, cracking his hand and putting a dent in the dull white plaster._

_They used to be able to induce a transformation._

_Little white rings would pass over the baby's body in the artificial womb, making it's swath of black hair a pure white._

_That was all gone now._

* * *

_"Please, Maddie, just- I've loved you since I first met you."_

_"Vlad, no- just- no. Get away from me."_

_"Leave with me, Maddie. Come on. We'll be happy."_

_"Vlad, get away from me. Stay away from me and my family."_

_"Maddie, we have a son together."_

_"He's not our son, Vlad. He's just an experiment. You can't use that against me."_

_"Maddie, please-"_

_"No, Vlad."_

* * *

_The fire raged on._

_Thousands of records, ten years of data, millions of dollars of equipment, all gone._

_Vlad was blamed._

_The only proof was Maddie Fenton's restraining order._

_He paid his way out easily, what with his new found money supply._

_The fourteenth experiment lived, only getting a small burn on his back._

* * *

_"Mr. Masters, this child is human, and he is your son. Custody is rightfully yours." The dour looking judge glared down at Vlad, gavel clutched in his wrinkled hand._

_"That freak of a human is not my child and never will be!" Vlad yelled back at the judge, his eyes glowing red. The men in the white suits standing at the edges of the courtroom turned on their weapons with a whine._

_Vlad clenched his jaw and stepped away from the pulpit, his eyes fading back to their cold, dead blue. He turned his back to the court, and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him._

* * *

_"We'll take him. I'm his biological mother anyway."_

_"Are you certain, Mrs. Fenton? You already have one child, do you want the responsibility of another?"_

_"We've been trying for another. This way we'll get one. Besides, if I don't, this little boy will be all alone in an orphanage with nobody." Maddie shook her head._

_"If you're sure. The child will be yours so long as he is human. If that ever changes you are to turn him over to the GiW immediately." The judge stared down at Maddie, his forehead creased in concern._

_"Of course." Maddie nodded and looked over at her husband, who had an excited look plastered on his face. She smiled at him and looked back to the judge._

_"Very well. Do you have a name picked out?"_

_"Daniel James Fenton."_

_-X-_


	4. Unconscious yet again

**Chapter 4**

_Thank you all so much, thank you to everyone who has read, reviewed, faved and followed, and especially thank you to tumblr user scrollingdown for letting me write for this au. Honestly, I'm a bit surprised at all of the reviews telling me to update. I mean I updated a week ago and I've gotten like, 6 reviews telling me to update, it's amazing. Thank you all for liking this enough to make me feel late, I love it. Anyway, I hope you've all had a good week and enjoy chapter 4._

I couldn't move. Like, at all. You know when you're home alone, and you're just sitting in bed, ready to go to sleep, all the lights are out, and all of a sudden you hear your door squeak, and you just freeze entirely and you can just barely feel your own heartbeat and everything gets clearer and louder and you can barely move? It's a little like that.

I can feel every single muscle contract in my heart. I feel like I'm breathing too much and my hands are getting gross and sweaty.

I tried to speak, to respond, but the only thing that came out of my mouth was "S-s-so, I-I'm…" Dad nodded, looking down at the ground. When he raised his eyes to meet mine, they were filled with tears.

"I'm so," he gasped for breath, shuddering against the sobs that racked his body, "so, sorry, Danny, but-" he cut himself off and buried his head in his hands, weeping. Mom rubbed his back, trying to comfort him, tears running down her face.

A thought tore through my mind like wildfire.

The child will be yours, so long as he is human.

No.

Shit.

Fuck, no. My parents- I'm not human anymore they're- oh, god. They're gonna have to give me up. I'm gonna have to- god.

I'm a weapon, and they're going to have to hand me over to the government. I don't want to, I want to stay here with my family and friends and go to school, become an astronaut and just- just live.

I can't- I can't do this, I don't want to- shit.

I'll never be able to become an astronaut, I probably won't even be able to graduate. I'll be government property or something and they'll be too busy making me hunt down ghosts to let me go to school.

But, you know, they might not. They might just let me carry on as usual and maybe only bother me sometimes?

But what about that Vlad guy? The bio-dad who rejected me because of my full-human status and basically assaulted Mom. Would he be interested in me now too? I mean- I'd never actually met the man, but he's my biological father. I can't help but wonder a bit what he's like. Apparently, he's a massive jerk, but I still want to meet him. But then again, why would I want to, the guy basically left me to the wolves. I could've died and he wouldn't have batted an eye. I don't know him, but that doesn't mean it doesn't hurt a little.

My head spun with all of the new information. The world around me got blurry and my stomach churned. White spots danced across my vision and grew, spreading across everything, drowning it in a milky white abyss. It faded to gray, I vaguely heard someone yell, then it changed to black, and I knew no more.

-X-

Danny's body swayed where he sat and slumped forward into his knees. Maddie gasped and pulled him up, leaning him against the back of the couch. "Danny! Danny? Danny, are you alright? Danny?" she grabbed his face and patted his cheeks. His eyes were shut tight and his face utterly blank. She took off her gloves and held two fingers below his nose, and held her other hand to his neck, checking for a pulse and breathing.

She sighed in relief when she found both. Gently, she rested his head back against the cushions. "H-he's fainted." she wiped away her tears and ran a hand through Danny's perpetually messy hair.

Jack let out a breath, calming himself and rubbing away his tears. "He's taking this better than I expected." Maddie chuckled.

"What did you expect?"

"A lot more yelling and screaming. Maybe some door slamming." Jack smiled at Maddie, trying to cheer her up. Maddie smirked back and stood up.

"We should bring him up to his room. He's had a hard day."

Jack laughed, "I think that's an understatement, Mads." he hefted himself off the couch, careful not to let Danny fall. "I'll carry him up. Go make sure his bed's ready."

She nodded and flitted up the stairs, two steps at a time. Jack turned to his son and slid an arm under his legs and head, he lifted with his legs and carried the boy up to his room.

Maddie waited by Danny's bed, covers neatly pulled back and pillows fluffed. Jack carefully set Danny down in his bed. Jack tugged off Danny's shoes and Maddie yanked off his socks, knowing how much he hated sleeping with them. She smoothed the blankets over her son and sat down on the bed beside him, stroking his face lovingly.

"What are we gonna do, Jack? We have to report this, if we don't-" Maddie's voice broke.

"-We'll be locked up, I know." Jack nodded solemnly " But we can't just tell them. They might take him away, we might never see him again." He held back a sob and collapsed beside his wife.

"And Agent O comes around to visit on his birthday, that's in a few months. There's no way we can hide this from him."

"But we could get a few months. We could claim that we didn't know, that he was hiding it from us."  
"Why would he do that?"  
"He's already done it, Jack. His fangs came out with blood when he attacked that ghost. That means he ripped them out before and they were still growing back in. He already tried to hide it from us."

"Why?" Jack held his head in his hands, rubbing his temples and messing up his neatly trimmed hair. "Why would he do that?"

"Because he was scared. He was scared of what was happening to him and he didn't want to come to us because he was trying to be brave." Maddie cleaned her face from the tears still streaming down and went back to rubbing Danny's face.

Jack nodded. "We could hide it for a few months. Besides, maybe O won't notice anything." Jack rubbed Maddie's shoulders, working all of the knots and kinks out. "There's always a chance."

Maddie sighed and set her shoulders, a determined look growing on her face.

"We need to test a few things. See what caused the development and if the transformation is complete." Jack grinned at her." Oh, we need to give him another 'Talk'." Jack started, his smile sliding off his face like it was melting.

"No. I did it last time, I'm not doing it again. The first time was traumatic enough for the both of us. No thanks."

"Fine, I'll do it."  
"You can't do it, you're his mom!"

"I know plenty about man parts, thank you very much. Either way, this isn't even about all of that. He's got a new digestive system and eventually he'll get ghost powers. We can't leave him in the dark about that, Jack." Maddie said in a scolding voice.

Jack was blushing furiously "Ok, do it. Geez." He glanced down at Danny, his forehead furrowing in concern. "We should let him rest." He stood up and held his hand out to help Maddie up. She took it and hugged him.

"Why did this have to happen?" she whispered the question into his ear.

"I don't know, Maddie. I don't know."

-X-

My eyes opened slowly and groggily. I saw the clean white sheets, each individual strand of thread glowing brightly in the morning sun that filtered in through my window. I looked up at my alarm clock to see the time.

"NOON?!" I jolted up in bed and whipped the blankets off of me. I froze when I saw the little note by my clock. Messy, cursive handwriting. Mom wrote it.

Danny-

Just come downstairs and eat when you're ready. We made pancakes and eggs for breakfast. We need to talk. We can do that while you eat.

Love,

Mom

A glass of water was set right next to the note, filled up and ready to drink. I took a few swigs and slid off my bed. I was still wearing the same clothes I had been yesterday. Why?

And then it hit me like a freight train.

The whole cannibalistic half ghost thing.

Right.

My mind once again was swarmed with thoughts about what could happen to me. What probably would happen to me.

I stood up, rolling off of my bed and catching myself on the cold floor. I wandered over to my closet and tugged on some hopefully clean clothes. I smoothed out my hair and slowly turned around.

The door, white and tall, and a little bit banged up. That door was the only thing standing between and the consequences of…of whatever this is. I had no idea what would happen to me once I stepped out that door. If I stayed in here, I would be safe from everything until my parents decided to come and check on me instead of letting me come to them. I had no idea what they would do, I mean, if they didn't turn me in they'd get in trouble. That's what the judge said. They'd be locked away and god knows what would happen to me. But if they turned me in, nothing would happen to them and I'd still be sent off to who-knows-where.

I took a deep, shaking breath and took a step towards the door. The floorboard underneath my foot shrieked at the sudden weight, but I pressed on. Before I knew it, the stiff metal of the doorknob was in my grip and I was twisting it, painfully slowly.

The door squeaked open and light from the hallway rushed in, bathing my face in bright sunlight. I looked back at my room. I figured it might be the last time I saw it. Gulping, I turned back to the bright hallway and strode out, each footstep less and less confident than the last.


	5. Ok so this actually explains a lot

_So, thank you to everyone who reviewed and read and everything, you give me motivation, especially when you yell at me to continue with this, so thanks for that. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this lil thing and have a great day._

I slumped into the rickety wicker chair. The backrest of the chair had been mostly burned away by experiments gone awry and the usual wear and tear. In front of my seat, a plate was filled with eggs, hashbrowns and bacon. Beside my plate, a glass of some sort of glowing green substance, ectoplasm, bubbled softly, the smell soaring through me and making me feel fuzzy.

Mom was bustling around the kitchen, cleaning up the remnants of lunch and breakfast. "Go ahead and drink the ectoplasm. You need it." She smiled at me as I reached for the glass and took a sip.

The taste felt like it was dancing down my tongue and throat. The bubbles popped and tickled my mouth. The lemony flavor almost sizzled across my tongue. My eyes drifted shut and I let the sensation of flying pass through me, lime-flavored pins and needles racing through me, electrifying my nerves. I moaned in delight at the feeling. It felt like something inside me had been filled. Something I hadn't even realized was missing. I was starving.

I came back to reality when I heard Mom chuckle. It sounded warped and distant, but I opened my eyes and focused on my surroundings.

"What?" She stopped laughing, and looked at me, a knowing grin on her face.

"Is it good?" My eyes opened wider and I blushed.

"It's alright." That only made her laugh more.

"Do you want more?" My eyes shifted downward, I nodded. She giggled and poured another glass of ectoplasm.

"Where did you get this?"

"Oh, the ghost you attacked earlier. It destabilized and liquefied. We were able to save a lot of it so we can feed it to you." I bit my lip and drank the rest of the ectoplasm.

"Sooo, you wanted to talk?"

"Oh, yeah. Uhm…" She paused for a few moments, thinking about what she would say. "Your body has changed. It's different now, so there's a few things you need to do….differently."  
"Oh my god is this _the Talk_. Again?"

"No, this isn't the Talk. Well, I suppose it is, but this one's new. You're half ghost, and were meant to be a predator to ghosts. That means that you have special… features. You digestive system is different. You have two stomachs. One human, and one ghost. Your ghost stomach is phase-proof, meaning that ghosts can't escape it. At all. Unfortunately, this also means you can't throw anything up from this stomach either. That would be a way for a ghost to escape. If your ghost stomach gets human food inside, we just have to dilute it with probably a gallon of ectoplasm. If ectoplasm gets into your human stomach, you can just throw that up."

"Wait- but, how do I control that? I mean, do I have to think about which stomach I want to use before I swallow anything?"

"No, no. Your sense of smell and taste can detect what it is you're eating, and your epiglottis in the back of your throat can cover up the right thing so it doesn't fall down the wrong one. It'll be like choking"

"If the food can't be diluted with ectoplasm, we'll have to surgically remove it. Luckily, we've got the proper tools right in the basement to do that. " she smiled warmly at me. It was unnerving, given what she just said, but I shakily smiled back.

"Now, we're going to want to keep you full of ectoplasm so you don't want to go off and hunt for yourself. But the urge to hunt and the need to eat are different. So you'll want to go hunting, even when you're full. It's like a cat chasing a string. You don't need to, but you do anyway. But being full will probably stifle that a bit. Any questions?"

I shook my head, feeling numb. I never wanted any of this. I just wanted to be a normal teenager, go out, have fun, ignore the world, but no. I get to eat ghosts and enjoy it.

"Let's go down to the lab, I've got some tests I need to run."  
"Painful tests?" I asked worriedly. Mom shook her head vigorously.

"No. We'd never hurt you intentionally, Danny. Never." She stood and helped me up, dragging me down to the lab. The metal steps echoed beneath our feet with each step. The lemony smell of ectoplasm from the portal filled the air. I sniffed the air, breathing in the magical smell.

Mom sat me down on a lab table and plopped herself down in a rolling chair.

"So your claws, can I see them?" I glanced down at my hands, flexing the first knuckle and allowing the long, scalpel-shaped claws to stick out.

"Your claws are designed for slicing and cutting, not for grabbing and pulling, like a cat's claws are. They aren't hooked or anything, so you can't just dig your claws in and drag the ghost around. They're like fingernails, so they'll keep growing. We're going to have to cut and file them down so you can still hide them in your fingers. They're pretty fragile, so they might fall out or break. They'll grow pretty quickly. You can retract them."

I winced a little as the claws slid back into place in my sensitive fingertips. "The sensitivity should wear off pretty soon. You'll be able to use them without any pain then. Fangs please."

I opened my mouth and flicked my fangs from their folded position on the roof of my mouth. "Your fangs are similar to a snake's fangs. They're designed to hold venom. They're designed for injecting venom rather than actually biting, so I would avoid trying to drag your prey around by your mouth-"  
"Wait- I'm venomous now?"

"Yes… It's only effective on ghosts. It's just a tranquilizer. You're more or less immune to it in small doses. If you do start being affected by how much venom leaks out of your fangs, we might have to milk you…" she stared at my fangs with a pensive look on her face.

"What?!" My yell startled her out of her thoughts and she shook her head.

"Sorry. Snakes are usually milked of their venom so if they bite anyone, the person isn't poisoned and the snake isn't drooling venom everywhere. There's a chance that you might make too much on accident and it'll just end up everywhere and you might fall asleep."  
"Why is it called milking though? It makes me sound like a cow." She snorted and giggled.

"I don't know why. Ask snake owners. Anyway, the venom isn't instant. It'll take a few minutes for your prey to fall asleep, depending on how much you dosed them with and the ghost's power level. Both your claws and your fangs are phase proof, so you don't have to worry about your prey escaping because of that."

She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "How are you feeling? Overwhelmed yet?"

"Mom, I've been overwhelmed since you started talking, but I think the whole venom thing really pushed it." She chuckled and patted my leg.

"Do you want to stop? We can just relax for the rest of the day, pick this back up tomorrow."

I sighed loudly, nodding in agreement. "Yes please. I've had enough life-shattering news for one day, thank you very much."

Her eyes shifted downward guiltily. "I-I'm sorry this happened, Danny. I know you're scared."

It was silent for a minute. I opened my mouth, hesitating to ask the question and hear the answer. "You- you said that a condition of you being able to raise me was- was that you could keep me if I stayed human. I'm not human anymore. So, what-" I was cut off by Mom wrapping her arms around me.

"I'm so sorry, Danny. I'm sorry this whole thing is happening, I'm just-" a sob caught in her throat. "We're your parents. You're our son. We'd never give you up. But this means-" she took a shuddering breath. "-it means that you can't let anyone you wouldn't trust with your life know about you. If you want to stay with us, no one can tell. Alright?"

"So I take it that means I can't tell Jazz…" I smiled slyly and looked up at Mom.

"Danny!"


	6. psychNOanalysis

_So, I'm back. I've gotten over my writer's block and everything. Thank you all for the reviews, faves, follows, and just reading this. I love you all and I hope you enjoy this little guy._

We heard the front door slam shut and a feminine cry of "I'm home!" Mom looked up from the lab station computer, where she was analyzing some of my blood, and glanced over at me.  
"Danny, I think it's time for you to talk to your sister."  
"Can't you do it?" I groaned. Mom only smirked and replied.  
"I can be there, but it's important that you tell her. It'll help you come to terms with this whole situation."  
"Ugh. Fine." Sliding off of the lab table, I started up the stairs. "But you're coming with me." Mom stood up, sighing.  
"Of course."  
Jazz was sitting on the couch, reading some books when we finally got upstairs. Her eyes shifted from the withering textbook in her hands to me.  
"Hey, Danny. I haven't seen you in a bit. Where've you been?"  
"Uhmmm…. I- I- uh. I've been… in the lab. I guess."  
"You guess?" Her eyes narrowed with suspicion and her hands slowly shut the book.  
"W-well. I-uhm. I'm- I eat ghosts." I heard my mother put a gloved hand up to her face and probably wince at my pathetic explanation.  
"What?" Jazz's face twisted into a grimace of confusion and I opened my mouth to offer another ridiculous explanation, but Mom thankfully put me out of my misery.  
"Jazz, honey. Danny isn't exactly… human. You remember that project you did in fifth grade, where you had to find old pictures of your family, but you never saw a picture of me pregnant with Danny?"  
"What." It was more of a statement than a question, but it did describe Jazz's emotions perfectly, I think.  
"I was never pregnant with Danny. He was grown in an artificial womb in a lab. We- your father and I were hired to make a human-ghost hybrid, known as a halfa. But after thirteen failures, our sponsors wanted a predator, rather than just a half ghost. The predator was designed to be a hunter, and have features that would allow it to crave and eat ghosts. But the fourteenth experiment, when he was taken out of the artificial womb, he was completely human, so our sponsors let us keep him. That's where we got Danny."  
Jazz looked faint. Her face was pale and incredulous. "So- so you're telling me that my _little brother_ is a _ghost_? _Danny_, a _ghost_?"  
"He's your half brother, actually. We had to get the halfa genes from somewhere, and in college there was an accident with the proto portal, and our partner, Vlad Masters, got turned into a halfa. We used his and my genes to make Danny-"  
"God, Mom thanks for that picture." I whispered.  
"But we had a falling out. He went insane and tried to get me to leave your father and he burned down the lab where we worked. We only barely got Danny out. The GiW, our sponsors, figured that Vlad would rather raise Danny because he was alone and very wealthy. But Vlad rejected Danny because he was human, so your father and I took him in. We can keep him so long as he is human"  
Jazz was completely silent, eyes wide, frozen to her seat.  
"I was not emotionally prepared for this. I was just planning on having a nice day off, but _no! Of course not! Why would it be?! Why are you just springing this on us now?!_"  
"Because, Danny was human. But his ghost genes are activating and he's a halfa now."  
"So you're getting rid of him?!" Jazz jumped up, wrapping her arms around my neck protectively. "You're not getting your hands on him!"  
"Jazz!" I choked out, tapping the arm that was crushing my windpipe. Suddenly, my body got tingly. You know, when you fall asleep in a position and your arm falls asleep and you can't even feel it when you wake up because it's been in that position for over 8 hours? It was like that.  
I was unbalanced and fell to the floor, straight through Jazz's arms.  
Feeling returned to by body and I hit the floor with a thud.  
Their eyes shifted to me with surprise. "Danny!" They both yelled as they rushed over to my side. I sat up slowly, my eyes wide. "What was that?" I asked.  
"You phased through Jazz." Mom replied simply. "And Jazz, I'm not going to give him up. He's my little boy and I would never let him go. We need to keep this a secret. No telling anyone outside of immediate family."  
Jazz nodded before she turned to me. "Are you alright Danny?"  
"Yeah. I'm fine. Thanks for choking me, by the way."  
"Oh, sorry."  
"It's fine." I smiled up at her. She grinned back, helping me up. She shifted her eyes over to Mom.  
"Anything other life changing things I should know?" Mom snickered at Jazz then looked over at me, an evil glint in her eyes. Frowning, I narrowed my eyes at her.  
"Danny has the psychological aspects of a predator." And with that, she strode out the room, feeling very pleased with herself. She knew Jazz would be intrigued, and wouldn't leave it alone until she put me through an honest-to-god psychoanalysis session. Grimacing, I glanced over at Jazz, who had a ravenous look on her face.  
She grabbed my hand and led me up to her room. "Jazz, no!"  
"Danny, this is a psychological anomaly never before seen in humans. You can't say no."  
_"Jaaaaazzzzzz_." I whined as she set me down on her bed and sat down in her spinny chair, snagging a pad of paper and a pen.  
"So, Danny. Where would you like to start?"  
"Maybe by leaving?"  
"Not happening. Let's do some word association. Just tell me the first word you think of when I give you a word. Okay?"  
"No."  
"Let's start." She readied her pen over her paper. "Piano." She offered.  
"Noise." She nodded, scribbling down my answer.  
"Ghost?"

"Danny." She implored.  
"Food."  
"Hunting?"  
"...fun?  
"Sleep?  
"Can we be done yet, Jazz?" She glanced down at her paper and sighed.  
"Fine. But don't think I'm letting this go."  
"Oh, _of course not."_


End file.
